|
I might just throw the cats together and see how they do. At this point you're well past the introduction phase (which doesn't always work anyway) and you're just going to have to let them figure things out. They may work out a coexistence (which the occasional scuffle), but you're going to have to leave it to them. Will it work? Maybe, maybe not, but you can't spend your entire live shuttling cats from one room to another. pidan posted:There's a pheromone spray called feliway that allegedly helps cats get along. I haven't used it, but it might be worth a try. Yeah Feliway did nothing but waste my money.
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 15:32
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:14 |
|
|
Poopelyse posted:ha, it's impossible. every plant we've ever had in the house ends up with little teeth holes all over it. to get our kitty to stop doing stuff like chewing on plants, scratching the couch, opening the cabinets, etc. we squirt him with water. doing that whenever we catch him usually deters him for like a week or so My theory is that Aleta ate too much delicious spider plant, tripped a few balls before making GBS threads everywhere, and is trying to replicate the psychedelic experience. I mean, she attacked a cactus with her mouth and both fists. It is not a cat, it is a tiny stegosaurus.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 15:36
|
|
|
Sarern posted:There's this from wayyyy back in the thread. A few goons have recommended these steps I think. It sounds like you may need to separate them for a while and take it slowly. thanks for this! this is basically what we've been doing - secluding them with intermittent contact that we supervise carefully. they're separate 99.9% of the time right now and my cat is still pretty spooked and spending a lot of time under the bed, but it sounds like we're going in the right direction but need to be more consistent with our supervised contact. Organza Quiz posted:Can you describe how bad the actual attacks are? Is it just a bit of whapping or is it like yowling and drawing blood? A month isn't necessarily a long time. Most cats will work out some kind of co-existence eventually, although it can take a long time in some cases. Squirting the aggressive one for going for the non-aggressive one won't make him associate attacking with wetness, at best it will make him sneakier about attacking when he thinks you aren't paying attention. They haven't been bad because we've been there to break them up, but it's mostly just hissing and paw slaps. we definitely haven't seen any blood or claws and they seem to mostly just hiss angrily and growl at each other. I suppose we should let them try to work it out, but whenever we try my cat runs under the bed and the other one tries to chase him under there. a few times they've both sat under the bed staring at each other angrily but they didn't attack, the attacks seem to be a result (perhaps) of prolonged periods of non-contact between them, almost like the aggressor forgot the other one was around despite constantly smelling his smells. the more aggressive one also likes to sit in front of the closed door of the other one's room and meow and scratch like he wants to get in, but he's upset and shaking a bit when he actually gets in here. last thing I want to do is incentivize him to attack when we're not paying attention, especially because we want to, one day, be able to leave the house with all the doors open and not have to worry about it, so i guess i'll stay away from a spray bottle and continue to scoop him up / put him in his bedroom when he attacks. Rotten Red Rod posted:I might just throw the cats together and see how they do. At this point you're well past the introduction phase (which doesn't always work anyway) and you're just going to have to let them figure things out. They may work out a coexistence (which the occasional scuffle), but you're going to have to leave it to them. yeah, it's frustrating having to constantly move cats between our two rooms, switch rooms every night, keep an eye on doors, etc. maybe later today i'll just do what we've done in the past and put them both in the common areas under our supervision and see if they can hash this ridiculous cat grudge out a little bit. i'm also going to buy some feliway, at this point anything is worth trying.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 15:46
|
|
|
My cat is really lazy for a four month old kitten. Maybe it's because she didn't have siblings and the adult cats at the breeder probably didn't share any kitten energy. Molly sleeps a lot, plays a little and mostly enjoys playing by herself with trash and pencils and watching us go about our day. Sometimes she'll sit in our lap but mostly she'll just lie in her various cat beds. Even if she's walking around to watch us do stuff, she'll often just flop over:  She's making a face because she noticed me taking a picture, she's generally a friendly flop.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 15:48
|
|
|
Frog Act posted:thanks for this! this is basically what we've been doing - secluding them with intermittent contact that we supervise carefully. they're separate 99.9% of the time right now and my cat is still pretty spooked and spending a lot of time under the bed, but it sounds like we're going in the right direction but need to be more consistent with our supervised contact. For what it's worth, I switched to the generic feliway because it was much cheaper than the branded version. I also made sure to get the multi-cat kind because there's another kind though I forget what that one is for. I have two diffusers in a 1000 sq ft apartment and have to refill about once a month.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 15:51
|
|
|
Sarern posted:For what it's worth, I switched to the generic feliway because it was much cheaper than the branded version. I also made sure to get the multi-cat kind because there's another kind though I forget what that one is for. I have two diffusers in a 1000 sq ft apartment and have to refill about once a month. cool, thanks. i'm right near a petsmart so i'll go check out the options. we have a 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom so i imagine we'd need a similar setup. i thought it was more something you spray around 'em when they're out interacting, but if it's a more consistent thing in their environment, maybe it'll have a cumulative effect.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 15:52
|
|
|
If it's just hissing and swatting then absolutely don't separate them, they need to work that poo poo out. If the angry one is worse after being separated then that's even more reason to let them have longer periods together.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 16:09
|
|
|
Frog Act posted:cool, thanks. i'm right near a petsmart so i'll go check out the options. we have a 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom so i imagine we'd need a similar setup. i thought it was more something you spray around 'em when they're out interacting, but if it's a more consistent thing in their environment, maybe it'll have a cumulative effect. There's two kinds of feliway: feliway that gets them "high" and feliway that simulates kitten pheromones. The calming feliway doesn't do anything for kitten sharing. And yeah, if there's no claws or blood or the sounds of catfights that you hear from outside in spring, separating them is only causing more stress.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 17:29
|
|
|
So, it turns out the cat I was going to adopt has epilepsy triggered by stress (so far, unusually rough vet appointments, ie getting shots) - he's two, and has had two seizures in the past, but has also lived a pretty lowkey life (as cats should!). Ideally I would fly/drive with whichever cat I get at least twice a year (live in two places, each for part of the year). The shelter said that with medication it would probably be manageable, but I feel like it would be wrong to put the cat into that kind of situation. That makes sense, right? He's a lovely angel and I'll definitely be sad not to adopt him, but I'm sure he can find someone who can give him a more appropriate life, and I'm sure I'll be able to find another cute cat out there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 17:39
|
|
|
Anybody ever had to disinfect a carpet after feline distemper?  We took in three kittens for fostering a week ago, to brighten the house after the death one of ours last month. They were tested for the usuals (all came back negative) but nonetheless one little guy just faded and faded. Eventually we had to transfer him to someone more medically inclined, but despite their efforts he had to be put down. In the transfer he was tested again and that's when we found out he was positive for distemper. The two other kittens in our care were taken this morning (we were willing to keep them but the shelter said they're better able to care for them - which sucks but they're right) and now we're left in a house that - I'm guessing - is very likely riddled with distemper. Our vet assures us that our other two cats are completely safe since all their vaccinations are up to date but we'll still watch them carefully. We always keep our fosters separated in their own room (we have two other cats but they rarely ever meet our fosters), but although we're good hand-washers we've likely tracked it all over the house on our shoes since the kittens have had more than the usual amount of accidents on the carpet. The whole upstairs is carpeted, and the downstairs is hardwood with lots of rugs. I'm reading that it takes a ridiculously long time for a room to be distemper-free, like six months (with a year needed before you're sure enough to introduce an unvaccinated cat). We had hoped to get a new kitten of our own eventually, but it looks like that's a year away now, so this just ...sucks. Anyway, does anyone have any surefire recommendations for killing distemper in carpet? We're scared of some friend coming over (not likely in 2020 but you never know), getting it on their shoes, then bringing it back to their own house.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 20:43
|
|
|
Kittens also play pretty rough and I didn't like to see my ragdoll kitten getting tackled and bit pretty hard on the neck repeatedly but it turns out that ragdoll kittens can be vicious and aggressive if the situation calls for it. Now they're basically buds that wrestle at night and follow each other around like puppy dogs but it took about 4 days of some pretty bad sounding fights before they worked something out. I'm still not sure if my ragdoll has been corrupted by my cozy future UFC champion kitten, but they're at least well on their way to being good friends which mattered more to me than whether the ragdoll was some imaginary angel kitten forever.jackpot posted:Anyway, does anyone have any surefire recommendations for killing distemper in carpet? We're scared of some friend coming over (not likely in 2020 but you never know), getting it on their shoes, then bringing it back to their own house.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 21:28
|
|
|
jackpot posted:Anybody ever had to disinfect a carpet after feline distemper? Feline distemper is a non-enveloped virus, so the standard tricks don't work on it. Even UV radiation doesn't work reliably on non-enveloped viruses. Don't bother with alcohol-based disinfectants or anything marketed for COVID. Stick with chlorine or oxidization based cleaners. necrobobsledder posted:The virus is hardier than the novel coronavirus and lasts for up to a year. The methods to disinfect are the same though and the lack of being sure-fire - soap, perhaps deep cleaning with disinfecting agents in the carpet cleaning vacuum you can rent (also, be careful with those from stores).
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 21:35
|
|
|
Lots and lots of Rescue brand disinfectant in your future is the short version. https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/rescue-concentrate
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 23:16
|
|
|
Had to take one of my furballs to the emergency vet two nights ago. I thought he was just stressed from the new dog in the house got constipated but then he started growling at us whenever we made him move and that's super abnormal. Turns out it was a urinary blockage. They're supposed to remove the catheter tomorrow and once he is eating and peeing on his own we can bring him home. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the Pro Plan urinary health food (wet and dry). Is there any reason I shouldn't feed it to my other cat too? Putting them on different diets seems... Complicated.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 00:26
|
|
|
Thanks a lot for these recommendations, I really appreciate it. What a drat nightmare. Since kittens climb all over you I’m assuming our clothes, which means basically everything we’ve worn around them in the past week, will all have to be washed with bleach... or am I overthinking it? For example if I washed - without bleach, like I've been doing our clothes for the past week without knowing this was in our house - a contaminated sock with a load of laundry is the rest of that load now contaminated too? jackpot fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Jul 10, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 01:30
|
|
|
Update on the cat catching situation: I have spent literally the entire last 24 hours on this. Efforts have failed and aren't worth a recap but now I have a raccoon trap with wet food in it on the porch. She was looking for food on our porch literally five minutes ago before I put this trap out and I'm sitting a bit away from it with it in view. God damnit nanae come the gently caress on GET IN THE TRAPPPPP
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 02:19
|
|
|
jackpot posted:Thanks a lot for these recommendations, I really appreciate it. What a drat nightmare. Since kittens climb all over you I’m assuming our clothes, which means basically everything we’ve worn around them in the past week, will all have to be washed with bleach... or am I overthinking it? quote:Potassium peroxymonosulfate[11] (e.g. Trifectant® or Virkon) and accelerated hydrogen peroxide[12] (e.g. Accel/Rescue®) both have greater detergent properties and better activity in the face of organic matter compared to bleach and related products. Accel/Rescue in particular, has been shown to have good activity even in the face of organic matter contamination. Either of these can be used in carpet cleaners on contaminated carpets and furniture (always check first to test for staining). Basically, we are really loving lucky that the novel coronavirus is an enveloped virus. empty whippet box posted:Update on the cat catching situation: I have spent literally the entire last 24 hours on this. Efforts have failed and aren't worth a recap but now I have a raccoon trap with wet food in it on the porch. She was looking for food on our porch literally five minutes ago before I put this trap out and I'm sitting a bit away from it with it in view. God damnit nanae come the gently caress on GET IN THE TRAPPPPP
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 02:41
|
|
|
LoreOfSerpents posted:
If I pull this off I am going to weep like a little baby as if it were my own cat Actually this cat is the baby of one of the strays we have fed at our house daily for years aside from our actual inside cats. I remember her when she was a tiny stray kitten feeding with her mommy, who I also remember as a kitten. I was so happy when they took her in. So this actually is very personal as well
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 02:53
|
|
|
I'm glad to see the update <3
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 02:59
|
|
|
Shroomie posted:Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the Pro Plan urinary health food (wet and dry). Is there any reason I shouldn't feed it to my other cat too? Putting them on different diets seems... Complicated. I feed my cats different wet food four times a day (renal recipe for one) and it's a nuisance keeping them away from each other's food but not that difficult. I'm skeptical about prescription foods - they are both expensive and have a lot of low-quality filler ingredients* so I don't think it's a good idea to feed them to healthy cats. * supposedly for renal recipes this is to give them small quantities of high quality proteins like liver to avoid overwhelming their kidneys. I guess the fillers are there for calories rather than nutrition, but then why is the food so drat expensive? There are plenty of wet foods with liver as a main ingredient without grain and vegetable fillers.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 03:15
|
|
|
empty whippet box posted:If I pull this off I am going to weep like a little baby as if it were my own cat I am really pulling for you and the cat parents. A couple years ago, we lost our dog from a cabin for a week after some fireworks scared her away. It was so scary. The people who watched out for her and called us with info (no matter how small) were amazing. Keep it up!
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 03:33
|
|
|
Nanae(the cat's name - I think it's Portuguese for cat or something? one of the owners is from brazil) sniffed the food in the trap, walked around it a bunch, and didn't go in, and then a raccoon came out. I gave the raccoon food to get it to go away(I didn't want to yell at it or anything because it would scare nanae away too) but the cat ran off for now too. I put a couple empty energy drink cans on top of the trap door so that if something goes in it I should hear it. God damnit I want to get this cat back so badly. I need to be able to believe that if one of my cats ever gets out, that I might be able to rely on the kindness of almost-strangers to go to the ends of the earth to get them back. For there to at least be a chance for it to happen, even after 6 weeks missing. Talking to them on the phone, the relief I hear in their voices to see pictures and videos of their precious baby again after having to give up and write her off as gone, mixed with the ongoing grief, anxiety, fear and hope is even more agonizing. I am SO CLOSE to getting this cat back. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK DUDE I am ridiculously invested in this
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 03:36
|
|
|
Sounds like things are going fine so far, all considered.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 03:48
|
|
|
taqueso posted:Sounds like things are going fine so far, all considered. Yea I'm pretty hopeful, I really think we will get her back. This is the first time she has been spotted for sure in six weeks. I really thought she was just gone for good. It's honestly a loving miracle that she showed up again at all.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 03:50
|
|
|
Longpost to try to get more visibility for some of the posts that got a bit lost in recent conversations.Masey posted:Has there been any recent recalls/issues on flea treatments for cats? Bobstar posted:Ugh, looks like the kittens have finished off the Magsafe side of my Mac charger. Does anyone make a non-ugly protective sheath for such things? Or should I be smearing it in something gross? Or other? If you're really set on leaving your cables out, you can try coating the cord in things like hot sauce or bitter apple spray designed to discourage chewing, but in my experience, those coatings don't last long enough to discourage a determined cat. I've also heard recommendations for wrapping cords in tinfoil, but my cats chew on tinfoil, so ymmv. There are tons of cable protectors available, some of which have fun colors or shiny chrome exteriors. Fabric cable covers are an option if the cable doesn't get warm. Most plastic or fabric tubing won't hold up to kitten teeth, but the texture difference might be enough to deter them. You can also find lots of more resilient tubing options at a home improvement store, which you could customize for your decor. There's pretty much no limit except your imagination (and temperature, if the cable gets warm). You could even make a beaded rope around the cable if you like $$$ DIY options. Or tie multi-colored socks around it. foutre posted:So, it turns out the cat I was going to adopt has epilepsy triggered by stress (so far, unusually rough vet appointments, ie getting shots) - he's two, and has had two seizures in the past, but has also lived a pretty lowkey life (as cats should!). Ideally I would fly/drive with whichever cat I get at least twice a year (live in two places, each for part of the year). The shelter said that with medication it would probably be manageable, but I feel like it would be wrong to put the cat into that kind of situation. That makes sense, right? There are other logistics, which you might have already thought of, but I want to mention in case they haven't come up: Are you going to have vet records transferred each time you move? Are you going to have your cat registered in both places? Are the local cat diseases different between the two locations? (Example: Mosquitoes are a bigger problem in some parts of the US than in others, so vets in low-risk areas may not immediately think about a mosquito-borne disease from another area.) At the very least, please be upfront with the shelter that you'll be living in two places throughout the year, so they can hopefully help you find a really laid back cat. That probably isn't a cat who has seizures during routine shots. Fleta Mcgurn posted:Any tips for getting cats to stop eating plants? All my homemade citrus spray did was give Aleta a loving taste for lemons. Aleta sounds very tenacious, though. You might need a lot of sacrificial plants. Shroomie posted:Had to take one of my furballs to the emergency vet two nights ago. I thought he was just stressed from the new dog in the house got constipated but then he started growling at us whenever we made him move and that's super abnormal. Turns out it was a urinary blockage. They're supposed to remove the catheter tomorrow and once he is eating and peeing on his own we can bring him home. But you should get clearance from your vet, watch for signs of nutrient deficiency, and watch their bloodwork.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 04:22
|
|
|
LoreOfSerpents posted:Your situation doesn't sound ideal for most cats, tbh. Cats get all sorts of stress-induced conditions. Stress-induced diarrhea, stress-induced UTIs, stress-induced URIs... If you're going to be moving that frequently, and you're dead-set on having a cat, you probably want to find one who definitely travels well. Thanks for confirming, that's what I was thinking too. I was worried but the shelter kept saying it would be fine; definitely should have just gone with my gut on that one. I've dealt with the other stuff alright in the past, but that's also a very good point re: region specific diseases that luckily hasn't come up but I'll definitely keep in mind. I've previously had an incredibly chill cat who was alright with traveling/adjusted well to being in two different spots but I can imagine that was pretty unusual; I'm sure I need to recalibrate my expectations. I think I'll probably just wait a year or two until I'm in solidly in one place. I've been asking about cats that have already had experience traveling / are very laid back, but it seems pretty hard to really know how a cat will actually do in this situation, and it's probably not really fair to them to risk it being bad.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 06:17
|
|
|
LoreOfSerpents posted:If your kittens are young, your best/easiest option might be to store the charger somewhere they can't reach it. Depending on their age, they might be teething, which makes them want to chew on everything. Especially soft rubber. You need to provide lots of appropriate chewing options. Thanks! Yeah they're young and I'd say definitely at the teething-chewing stage, so I'm hoping this is temporary. We tidied almost all cables in preparation for their arrival, but I tend to use the Macbook on the sofa, with the cable trailing (and the battery's on its last legs), so I might just have to change my habits until they grow out of it. I've ordered a new charger (€€€) and some braided wrap (€) which I'm hoping will be a weird texture for them, or if not then protect the cable to some extent. I think the like the rubberiness of the Mac cable, they leave the few PVC ones they can see alone. They do have access to many dedicated chew toys, which we redirect their attention to when possible, but that dangling swag of wire is too hard to resist  (Comedy option: time for a new Macbook Pro, use non-Apple USB C cables!)
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 08:38
|
|
|
This is kind of not directly cat related, but I figured I'd ask for advice here anyway. We're adopting two cats in a couple of weeks. One of the cats was given up by a woman who couldn't afford to keep her. The foster home said that she's very attached to the cat and comes to visit a few times a month. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. I think I'd feel like I was just borrowing the cat from her. Also, won't it be confusing for the cat? The shelter said that they're not going to give her our contact information, but we can send pictures and letters through them. Is it cruel of me to consider not letting her visit?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 11:14
|
|
|
I understand where you're coming from, but I do think it's kind of cruel. Maybe try to get a feeling for who the woman is. If she's an elderly lady who lost her only cat friend, I'd find it pretty cruel to completely cut her out. If she's a 30 year old trainwreck, she'll probably get over it and you're better off not getting involved. There's probably also a middle ground between letting her visit multiple times a month, and only sending her a picture once a year. But maybe you'll be friends!
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 11:35
|
|
|
I didn't ask about her age, but she's definitely younger, maybe in her 20s? Apparently for the cat's birthday, she brought her boyfriend and her dad, so she's not all by herself at least. One of the things I'm worried about is that if she knows our address, she might try to take her back. That's just me being paranoid though. If she's fine with visiting just once a month or so, then it's probably okay
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 12:26
|
|
|
I would say if you talk to this person and she seems reasonable and you can come to an arrangement, then great. But it's ok to want to be clear that this is your cat now. We got Jimmy from his previous owners because they couldn't give him enough attention with a new baby (not quite the same as not being able to afford the cat though). But when he got diagnosed with kidney disease almost straight away, they felt guilty and asked if we wanted them to help pay - we said no, because he's our cat now, it's not like a joint custody thing. But they were work colleagues of my wife so it's a bit different. And they brought us a plant after he died. That was nice. Basically, if it's not going to be weird, why not, but set boundaries.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 12:31
|
|
|
Hey folks, so my wife and I recently took two cats away from my in-laws because they weren't taking very good care of them (Long story short, when my wife and I married and she moved out, no one at her old house wanted to change their litter box, the cats naturally started pissing and pooping everywhere, which infuriated them, so they started sticking them outside all day with minimal food. I got so angry that I offered to take the cats from them). We have 1 litter box in the house, and it seems like the cats are starting to adjust to our house (They are 14-15 years old each). 1 of the cats, Lilly, has started using the litter box immediately, no problems. Her brother, Larry however refuses to use them, and keeps finding random places to poop and pee each evening. From reading this thread's FAQ, I've seen the following solutions offered. - Get 1 litter box per cat (only problem here is we have a little toddler boy, and we have to be very careful he doesn't play with the litter boxes) - Use this cat litter https://www.drelseys.com/product-types/litter/ - Use a spray bottle and spray Larry whenever he poops/pees outside litter box (I'll have to follow him around after dinner, he usually does his business in the evening). I've also been putting him in the litter box 3-4 times a day, hoping that will have an effect. Our litter box right now has a lid on it, so it may be a little small for him, but I am cleaning it daily so it doesn't get too full. Do these solutions sound like they'll help, or is Larry too old to be re-trained? I know too he's a little stressed from the move, but he seems to be adjusting good, and we're giving him lots of food to make up for what happened at my in-law's.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 14:08
|
|
|
Crazy Joe Wilson posted:Hey folks, so my wife and I recently took two cats away from my in-laws because they weren't taking very good care of them (Long story short, when my wife and I married and she moved out, no one at her old house wanted to change their litter box, the cats naturally started pissing and pooping everywhere, which infuriated them, so they started sticking them outside all day with minimal food. I got so angry that I offered to take the cats from them). Some cats are fine with hooded boxes, some aren't. Think of how nasty the box smells when you pop the hood off, now imagine having a nose much more sensitive than yours and walking into the box before you release the poop smell. Negative reinforcement for litterbox is a bad idea, don't do that. Cats don't get cause and effect like we do, so the best case scenario is they'll just get scared of using the bathroom entirely. Older cats are kind of like reverse kittens in that you need more litterboxes because they can't hold it as long. Additionally I'd consider a check with a vet to see if there's a medical reason why he's not using the box. Edit: to be clear, geriatric cats (~15 years old) should be seeing the vet twice a year anyway. Raymond T. Racing fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jul 10, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 14:32
|
|
|
Evidently treating a kitten at the shelter for worms is oftentimes insufficient, so everyone with kittens should presume their kitten has at least worm eggs if you ask me. My shelter cat I adopted 4 weeks ago has confirmed roundworms after an initial de-wormer at the shelter and an initial round of antibiotics for the diarrhea that went away, but after perfectly healthy poops for weeks now he’s got vomiting and diarrhea and my ragdoll kitten is now also having diarrhea when he had healthy bowel movements for almost 2 weeks now. Really makes my night to be brushing my teeth while watching a kitten in its litter box eject liquid hell and a visible, pale worm out (I had sent a fecal out earlier in the day for testing). Anyone got tips for keeping long hair cats clean and sanitized when they’ve got diarrhea?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 20:36
|
|
|
LoreOfSerpents posted:Please ask your vet! Urinary health foods are usually lower in certain nutrients, to change the composition of the cat's urine and reduce the possibility of blockages forming. Commonly restricted nutrients are calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Restricting nutrients in an otherwise healthy cat is not generally recommended, but if the food doesn't require a prescription and it's marked as meeting AAFCO standards appropriate for the cat's age (i.e., adult or kitten), then it shouldn't be a problem for most cats. Yeah, I'm going to ask when I pick Morris up (hopefully tonight or in the AM). I figured the missing nutrients thing was going to be the case (why would it be a separate food otherwise) but was kinda hoping.it would be an "eh, it's fine" sort of thing.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 22:56
|
|
|
Anyone ever have a cat who had FHO surgery? My Toast had his done a couple of days ago, and I'm just curious about recovery. He will move maybe 10 yards total all day, limping heavily on the operated on leg. It clearly hurts him pretty badly, but they only gave us 3 days of pain pills. I somehow can't imagine his pain will be gone that quickly. We got some pain meds from the E-vet who diagnosed his broken joint - will I slow his recovery if I give them to him when the other stuff runs out? And will he have a limp for life? The E-vet sold it to us as a common procedure and that he'd get full range of motion back, but the internet seems to say otherwise. Neither my vet nor my Mother's was able to do the surgery, so I went with a vet I got by googling. He was stuck there three days waiting for his operation, because they kept having emergencies. They also didn't give him a head cone, although thankfully he's not picking at the stitches. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not very confident they're giving good advice. Anyone have experience with this?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 23:45
|
|
|
Domus posted:Anyone ever have a cat who had FHO surgery? My Toast had his done a couple of days ago, and I'm just curious about recovery. He will move maybe 10 yards total all day, limping heavily on the operated on leg. It clearly hurts him pretty badly, but they only gave us 3 days of pain pills. I somehow can't imagine his pain will be gone that quickly. Assuming the FHO was done well, my understanding is it'll take a while but everything will come back. If Toast was a active cat he'll bounce back better than if he was a super sedentary cat. If Gary (https://www.instagram.com/greatgramsofgary/) can go on hikes with a FHO, your cat will probably be fine. As far as dosing goes, I'd check with a vet before giving him pills just to avoid any unintended medical interactions.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 00:25
|
|
|
Domus posted:Anyone ever have a cat who had FHO surgery? My Toast had his done a couple of days ago, and I'm just curious about recovery. He will move maybe 10 yards total all day, limping heavily on the operated on leg. It clearly hurts him pretty badly, but they only gave us 3 days of pain pills. I somehow can't imagine his pain will be gone that quickly. It hasn't been updated in a few days but might still be worth trying to get someone's attention there if you can't get a hold of your vet right away! Personally, I agree that 3 days of pain meds feels insufficient. 3 days is what my cats get after dental surgery. Also, not all pain meds are created equal. Gabapentin is what my cats have been given for mild discomfort, whereas more significant pain requires something stronger, like buprenorphine. If your cat is obviously in pain, I recommend talking to the vet about what other options you've got for pain management. My non-vet opinion is that your cat's recovery may depend largely on the cat's age. Younger cats seem to heal crazy well from injuries. Older cats just don't work the same way. One of my cats should've gotten FHO surgery when she was younger, but our vet back then didn't tell us. Our current vet is an awesome surgeon and very confident in the procedure, but the cat is now too old and fragile to be a good candidate for it. In humans, post-surgery recovery is pretty important. There's a lot of research about how long you need to keep a limb immobilized after a broken bone and when you can start physical therapy. There isn't as much research in cats, but if I had a cat go through surgery like that, I'd be trying to limit his movement. When one of my cats started limping, the e-vet diagnosed him with a torn ligament and said he'd need surgery. The awesome surgeon vet said no, his ligament isn't torn, but he's probably got a sprain. Even with just a sprain, we had to limit his activity for SIX WEEKS. We bought a huge dog crate, big enough to fit a small litter box and food/water dishes and a cat bed, and that's where we kept him overnight when we couldn't monitor him. During the day, we'd let him just hang out in the bedroom with us, but we kept all of his necessities really close, so he never had to walk far. Jumping, climbing, etc. was all off-limits the whole time. It was hard for us but I'd like to believe that helped him recover. I'd do it again. Edit: Also, don't be afraid to get a second opinion from a different vet, to see if the surgery was done well and if there's anything else they recommend doing during recovery. And to put your mind at ease a little bit, the cat we've got who should've had FHO surgery ages ago, she has terrible arthritis in her hip now, and we have to be careful how we pick her up because she has bone fragments from her broken joint, just kind of hanging out in there. Our surgeon vet said none of that would be an issue if she'd had that procedure done. LoreOfSerpents fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Jul 11, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 01:12
|
|
|
I loving DID IT!!!! I GOT THE LOST KITTY!!!!! I'M SO loving HAPPY RIGHT NOW this cat has been missing for SIX WEEKS and their owners are coming down from Houston tonight. I loving DID IT!!!!
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 01:39
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:14 |
|
|
empty whippet box posted:I loving DID IT!!!! I GOT THE LOST KITTY!!!!! I'M SO loving HAPPY RIGHT NOW this cat has been missing for SIX WEEKS and their owners are coming down from Houston tonight. I loving DID IT!!!! gently caress YES YOU RULE!!!!
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 01:43
|
|